By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A vehicle is refueled at a gas pump as evening light reflects off its surface.  | Alan Wooten, The Center Square Affects Local – Forecast to take weeks not days for significant movement, a modicum of relief for traditional transportation energy prices has blown in with North Carolina’s weekend pollen. Monday’s average price statewide for a gallon of unleaded gasoline, according to AAA, was $3.89. That’s down from $3.90 a day earlier, $3.94

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Airline passengers are seated inside a cabin of a commercial plane. | Oxana Melis / Unsplash CHARLOTTE — Cancellations and delays at North America’s seventh busiest airport were down 90.7% and 35.5%, respectively, for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend compared to the one before, analysis by The Center Square shows. The spike March 13-15 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport coincided with the f

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file graphic | The Shelby Independent AFFECTS LOCAL – North Carolina has joined antitrust litigation filed in California seeking to block Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival Tegna, a move Attorney General Jeff Jackson says will send cable and satellite bills rocketing higher while local newsrooms are gutted.  The first-term Democrat says eight northeastern counties, and the markets around Charlotte and Greensboro have 2 million cons

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square courtesy media file photo (The Center Square) CHARLOTTE – More than 100 flights were canceled and another 1,200 delayed over the weekend at North America’s seventh busiest airport for passengers. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where 90% of flights are operated by American Airlines, needs hundreds of TSA workers for passenger, baggage and cargo areas. The Transportation Security Administration is within the Department of Homeland S

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Some candidates watched the results at The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Dept. Tuesday night. Top vote-getters, Danny Blanton speaks to Republican primary commissioner winner Wayne King, March 3, 2026. file photo. Caroline Eason, July 2025. Shelby Independent. This news story has been updated to include Eason’s comments. SHELBY – Of the 68,699 registered voters in Cleveland County, 11,806 (17%) participated in an unbelievably historic ha

By David Beasley | The Center Square File graphic photo | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – A strong statistical case for home ownership over renting is made in a new analysis from the Office of State Budget and Management in North Carolina. From 2020 to 2024, the cost of rent in North Carolina rose 10% over the previous five years, according to the report's interpretation of newly released U.S. Census numbers. In contrast, the cost for homeowners with mortgage

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina’s agriculture and agri-business economic impact is an estimated $111.1 billion annually. | The Shelby Independent file graphic (The Center Square) – Plausible reductions in agricultural exports because of retaliatory trade policies stemming from aggressive U.S. tariffs could cost North Carolina farmers $695 million, a new report says. Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman of N.C. State University, for the conservative-leaning John

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Sara Tongel at Norris Merchandise, is a captain at Number 3 VFD and a sitting board member at Shanghai VFD. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent If you don’t know Sara Tongel, you’ve more than likely seen or spoken to her if you have ever been to Norris Merchandise on S. Lafayette, just south of Shelby. “I'm Secretary of State,” she laughed, when asked what her title is, when it comes to Norris Merchandise. “We’re a small family bus

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file image (The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina have new levels in three areas impacting everyday life. Arguably the most times transacted against least noticed will be at the gas pumps. Starting on New Year’s Day and running to Dec. 31, the motor fuels and alternative fuels excise tax rate is 41 cents per gallon or gallon equivalent, the state Department of Revenue says. Individual and corporate income tax rates are also droppi

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent property taxes Today (Monday, Jan. 5, 2026) was / is the last day for Cleveland County property owners to pay their property taxes before fees and penalties. The Shelby Independent took a trip to the county tax office on the last day of 2025 to interview residents paying their property taxes in person before the deadline; as one person noted, who wished to remain anonymous, he feels better paying it in person and getting a receipt right

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Steven Robinson, owner of Angelos Pizza, stands in the kitchen of his business as he talks about the escaped convict he captured in 1983. photo by Chuck Thompson PATTERSON SPRINGS – Have you ever found a convict hiding in your car and then held him at gunpoint until the police arrived? If one thing is certain, it doesn’t happen often – at least not to most of us; not around here. But for Steven Robinson, owner of Angelo’s Pizza

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent From left, Crest's Thompson hurdles over a Hunt player, a CCS School Board meeting, former Boiling Springs Mayor Daniel Thomas. It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the year. The Shelby Independent might have only launched in June, publishing its first original piece on July 1, but with 250 articles published, it only makes sense to highlight the year in review with the TOP 10 LOCAL NEWS STORIES OF 2025, in Cleveland County. This w

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor Shelby Independent file graphic As 2025 draws to a close, North Carolina appears on track to finish the year with an unemployment rate that is better than the national average. (Continued below local sponsors) Statistics released by the state on Thursday showed North Carolina with an unemployment of 3.7% for September. That's unchanged from the month before and once again lower than the national average of 4.4%. North Carolina’

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Dr. Tim Sims, (center right) Senior Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Shelby, leads a group of Wayne King’s supporters in a moment of prayer. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent With candidate filing well underway, many Cleveland County residents, both current elected officials and new hopefuls have stepped forward to throw their hat into the ring for elected office. Wayne King, a Cleveland County native and lifelong Kings Mountai

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor Tier 1 counties are the most economically distressed. The tier system is used to direct state grant programs and incentives to counties that are the most in need of economic development. For example, companies creating jobs in Tier 1 counties can receive a higher percentage of incentives.   Graphic by The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – Eighteen counties either have changed tiers in the annual release of economic he

By David Beasley | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Charlotte has landed its second new corporate headquarters in less than a week, thanks in part to taxpayer incentives. Couple with incentives from North Carolina's Queen City and Mecklenburg County, Danish global logistics company Maersk is in line for up to $9.8 million in taxpayer subsidies. A state board on Tuesday approved $7.9 million in state grants. Maersk plans to invest $16 million to make Charlotte its North

By Lauren Becatti | The Shelby Independent From left, Bailey, Stella, Jada, Charlette, Sara, Addi, Morgan, Sandy and Kaitlyn of Center City, formerly Hats Off Salon. Submitted courtesy photo To celebrate Charlette Terry's purchase and rebranding of Center City Salon (formerly Hats Off Salon), there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. The staff will be present for a meet-and-greet, and there will also be vendors present, along with refreshments and a

By David Beasley | The Center Square The North Carolina state flag is shown flying against a blue sky. Photo: Mark Stebnicki (The Center Square) – With 2025 drawing to a close, the North Carolina Legislature still hasn’t approved a state budget, making it only the state in the nation without a full budget for fiscal 2026, according to the National Association of State Budget officers. This year may seem unusual, but in recent years, operating without an approved budget has b

By Alan Wooten | From our partners at The Center Square Courtesy file photo (The Center Square) – Supply has increased and prices, in some cases, will be less this year for live cut Christmas trees from North Carolina. The nation’s No. 2 producer – 1 in 5 of all grown in America by more than 900 farmers overseeing 53 million trees on more than 33,000 acres come from the state – won’t be plagued by a hurricane disrupting the industry. The pitch from farmers is the offer of a f

By David Beasley | From our partners at The Center Square (The Center Square) – A new health insurance program for small businesses in North Carolina was unveiled Tuesday with the promise of lower group rates than are offered by individual policies. The program, called Carolina Healthworks, is described as a “multiple employer welfare arrangement” offered by Blue Cross North Carolina and the North Carolina Chamber. It was authorized by the Legislature and implemented with hel